Former Rep. Todd Akin says he regrets his infamous “legitimate rape” comment and may consider a return to politics in the future.

“Of course I would,” Akin told KDSK in St. Louis on Thursday when asked if he would take the “legitimate rape” comments back. “I’ve relived them too many times. But that is not reality.”

Akin, a veteran congressman, was in a close race with Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) when he suggested it wasn’t necessary to allow abortion after rape because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Akin’s comments drew fire from all sides, national Republicans briefly abandoned him and he ended up losing the race by 15 points.

“No, no and I apologized for that,” Akin said when asked if he still believed rape couldn’t result in pregnancy. “All of us are fallible, we make mistakes, and we say things the wrong way.”

Akin also took shots at a favorite punching bag of the right wing of the GOP, Karl Rove. Rove has started a project, the Conservative Victory Fund, aiming to help electable candidates in Republican primaries — i.e., no more Todd Akins.

“Karl Rove has made himself an expert,” Akin said. “I think I lost one race. He managed to lose about 12 of them in one night.”

Akin, whose national political reputation is in tatters, also said he couldn’t rule out another run for office.

“It’s one of those things that depends on the circumstances really,” he said. “I don’t rule anything out.”